THIRD TIME LUCKY
After a trio of brushes with the law, Dundee could easily have said goodbye to Paul McGowan. Instead, they stuck by him and now he wants to repay the debt...
THROUGHOUT a lengthy playing career in which he represented Scotland 25 times and won trophies with Hearts and Celtic, Paul Hartley encountered no shortage of dedicated footballers. From Darren Fletcher to Shunsuke Nakamura, the Dundee boss has shared a training ground with some renowned role models and consummate professionals.
That said, his nomination for the most committed player comes as some surprise.
‘Paul McGowan is the best trainer I have ever seen, whether as a manager or player,’ he states. ‘By far the best. We had quite a few at Celtic and Hearts but I just think, for sheer energy, Paul is the best. He is quite unique in that regard.’
McGowan doesn’t need to hear the compliment to express deep gratitude towards his manager.
After all, Hartley kept the midfielder in a job after he was tagged following a third conviction for assaulting a police officer last April.
The 28-year-old is preparing to play a central role in today’s Dundee derby at Tannadice but knows he could just as easily have ended up exercising in a prison yard, his career in ruins.
The security band, worn for 16 weeks following his sentencing at Airdrie Sheriff Court, has now gone. So has the curfew that saw him confined to his home between 7am and 7pm. But the shame? That will never leave.
He expects the Dundee United fans to loudly remind him of his past at Tannadice this afternoon and will offer no riposte.
‘I’ll probably get the abuse for the rest of my days in the game but I deserve that, there’s only me to blame,’ he says. ‘When I was wearing the tag, the United fans had a song: “He’s got to go home, he’s got to go home…”.
‘I’m big enough to take that because I put myself in that position.
‘The club have been great with me, given what I put them through. They could have washed their hands of me. But they said: “We’ll help you, we’ll stick by you”.
‘When I look back on it now, it’s scary. It was my third time. Fair enough if it was my first, you could get away with it.
‘I went and spoke to the gaffer after it happened and I could tell he was hurting as much as I was. I felt as if I’d let him down and that hurt me most. I promised I would never put him in that position again.’
McGowan’s issues were rooted in a gambling problem, the frustrations of which would emerge under the influence of alcohol. Now, he insists he doesn’t even attempt to enjoy a relaxing night out with friends for fear of what trouble might ensue.
‘I’m not going out drinking and living the life I did,’ he says. ‘I’m living quieter. It’s not hard. Everyone can go out and have a beer but, every time I did it, I seemed to end up being abusive to police officers or whatever.
‘I had a few beers at my aunt’s 50th a month ago but I’ve taken myself away from going out to nightclubs and the like. I’ve got no more chances. If I went out and something happened, if I had a drink in me... you know what I mean? Something would be liable to happen and I don’t want to put myself or the club or my family in that position again.
‘I’ve always valued what I do, I love coming in training, playing games and it was selfish thinking it was always going to be there, irrespective. Maybe I got a bit too comfortable.
‘At St Mirren it happened twice and you look back and think: “What were you up to?”. These clubs, they’ve got enough to deal with without players getting arrested and I’m ashamed when I look back on it. I always will be.
‘People see you, maybe going and picking the wee boy up and they’re thinking: “There’s Paul McGowan, the thug”. I have to live with that.’
Fortunately for McGowan, his manager sees something entirely different when he reports for duty at Dens Park each morning.
‘Paul has done a lot of daft, stupid stuff and is honest enough to admit that,’ continues Hartley. ‘He was lucky to avoid jail. It was his last chance and he knows if he does anything else he will be in real trouble.
‘Since day one, the application, effort and enthusiasm he’s shown here is incredible. The way he trains and plays — the boy needs football. He just loves the game.
‘What you get from him is 100 per cent, the maximum every single day.
‘He takes that into games. He never gives up, he keeps going to the death and if we are not having a good day — like at Ibrox a fortnight ago — he was the one who did not give up.’
McGOWAN admits that 4-0 Scottish Cup defeat to Rangers remains raw. ‘If that doesn’t hurt you then you shouldn’t be playing,’ he says. But today marks a chance to make better a league campaign that could feasibly end in either success or despair.
The attacking quartet of Greg Stewart, Kane Hemmings, Rory Loy and Gary Harkins have entertained and been praised in return. The club’s target remains a top-six place. Yet while the spotlight has been on the next-door neighbours for a quite dreadful spell at the foot of the Premiership table, McGowan warns that Dundee shouldn’t consider themselves safe from relegation either.
‘If we get beat on Sunday, we could be dragged down there, and then it’s everything to play for,’ he reasons. ‘We’re only a few points away from second bottom. It’s incredibly tight.
‘We can’t rest on our laurels and sa we’re safe — we’re not safe. No team is safe just yet.
‘Our aim at the start of the seaso was top six. We’ve got the squad her to do it and I’d be very disappointed i we don’t make it.
‘We’re good value to come and watch We’ll go and attack, but there’s alway an edge about us conceding.
‘We went to Celtic Park and got draw but felt we could have won i Not many teams can do that.
‘To do that then go to Ibrox... it’s jus a blur. That’s the only word. It sti hurts. Those are the games that coul define your season. It was a chance t get to a semi-final.
‘On paper, we’re just as goo as Rangers, if not better. But the surprised me that day with the wa they moved the ball. They wanted more than us that day and we had t have a good look at ourselves becaus we were nowhere near.’
To give the aforementione
The club have been great with me, given what I put them through
foursome more protection, Hartley has modified McGowan’s role in the team of late, deploying him in a deeper role alongside former Inverness Caley Thistle man Nick Ross. He seems to be enjoying the switch. ‘The other guys are all carrying the burden but me and Nick, we’ve formed a good partnership in there,’ says McGowan. ‘We’re not the biggest but we work, we don’t give the opposition time to play.
‘This role lets me get on the ball a lot more and, although it’s new to me, I’ve embraced it. I’m still learning. I enjoy it. I’ve probably had more chances to score playing deeper, to be honest. I need to add goals to my game.’
McGowan would dearly love to partake in a first Dundee win at Tannadice since 2004 but he neither wishes nor expects to see the fixture disappear from the calendar next season.
‘I think they’re in a false position,’ he says of United. ‘They’ve got real quality, even though they’re rooted to the bottom of the table.
‘I can see them staying up. They need to start winning their games now, they can’t afford any more slip-ups, but neither can we.
‘With me being from Glasgow, it’s been Celtic and Rangers but to come up here and see it has been great. The atmosphere is frightening and our fans will fill the away end down there. It’s like an Old Firm team being there. It’s good for Scottish football.’
Just as McGowan does not wish to see United removed from the Premiership landscape, neither does he wish to depart the City of Discovery himself.
Out of contract in the summer, his first inclination is to show loyalty to the club and manager who stood by him.
‘You come to a crossroads like that, you ask yourself: “What are you doing?”,’ he reflects. ‘You’ve got everything you want and it can disappear in the blink of an eye.
‘I’ve had a great couple of seasons here and we’re talking about a new contract. If we could get that sorted, I’d be delighted to stay.’